Lathing and cleaning process for photoreceptor substrates

Abstract

A method of cleaning a substrate includes: (1) lathing a substrate surface with a cutting fluid composition containing (A) an antioxidant, (B) a surfactant, (C) a lubricant, and (D) water; (2) rinsing the lathed substrate surface with high quality deionized water having a resistivity of at least 2M ohm-cm; (3) immersing the rinsed lathed substrate surface in a bath of high quality deionized water having a resistivity of at least 2M ohm-cm; and (4) removing the substrate from the bath of deionized water at a rate low enough to prevent water droplets from forming on the substrate.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method of cleaning a substrate comprising: (1) lathing a substrate surface with a cutting fluid composition comprising:   (A) at least one antioxidant;   (B) at least one surfactant;   (C) at least one lubricant; and   (D) water;   (2) rinsing the lathed substrate surface with deionized water having a resistivity of at least 2M ohm-cm;   (3) immersing the rinsed lathed substrate surface in a bath of deionized water having a resistivity of at least 2M ohm-cm; and   (4) removing the substrate from the bath of deionized water at a rate which prevents water droplets from forming on the substrate.   
     
     
       2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the deionized water in steps (2) and (3) has a resistivity ranging from about 2 to about 10M ohm-cm. 
     
     
       3. A method according to claim 1, wherein in step (2) the substrate is spray rinsed with the deionized water at a pressure of from about 25 to about 75 psi. 
     
     
       4. A method according to claim 1, wherein in step (2) the substrate is rinsed with the deionized water for a period of from about 0.5 to about 1.5 minutes. 
     
     
       5. A method according to claim 10 wherein in step (3) the substrate is immersed in the bath of deionized water for a period of from about 0.5 to about 1.5 minutes. 
     
     
       6. A method according to claim 1, wherein the bath of deionized water is maintained at a temperature ranging from about 60° C. to about 75° C. 
     
     
       7. A method according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is withdrawn from the bath of deionized water at a rate of less than about 2.5 centimeters per second. 
     
     
       8. A method according to claim 1, wherein the cutting fluid comprises: (A) from about 0.1 to about 10 parts by weight of the at least one antioxidant;   (B) from about 0.1 to about 5 parts by weight of the at least one surfactant;   (C) from about 1 to about 20 parts by weight of the at least one lubricant; and   (D) from about 65 to about 98.8 parts by weight of water; the sum of (A)-(D) being 100 parts by weight.   
     
     
       9. A method according to claim 1, wherein the cutting fluid comprises: (A) from about 0.5 to about 2 parts by weight of the at least one antioxidant;   (B) from about 0.5 to about 3 parts by weight of the at least one surfactant;   (C) from about 2 to about 10 parts by weight of the at least one lubricant; and   (D) from about 85 to about 97 parts by weight of water; the sum of (A)-(D) being 100 parts by weight.   
     
     
       10. A method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one antioxidant is an amine or carboxylic acid salt. 
     
     
       11. A method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one antioxidant comprises at least one member selected from the group consisting of triethanolamine, ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid, an amine borate, and an amine carboxylate. 
     
     
       12. A method according to claim 10 wherein the at least one surfactant is a non-ionic, non-foaming surfactant. 
     
     
       13. A method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one surfactant comprises at least one member selected from the group consisting of a copolymer of propylene oxide and ethylene oxide and an ethoxylated ethanol. 
     
     
       14. A method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one surfactant comprises at least one member selected from the group consisting of octylphenoxy polyethoxy ethanol, propyleneoxide/ethyleneoxide copolymer or polyoxyethylene sorbitan monolaurate. 
     
     
       15. A method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one lubricant comprises a polyhydric alcohol or a polymer of a polyhydric alcohol. 
     
     
       16. A method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one lubricant comprises at least one member selected from the group consisting of dihydric alcohol, a dihydric alcohol containing ether bonds, a dihydric alcohol derived through nitrogen, and a dihydric alcohol containing ester bonds. 
     
     
       17. A method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one lubricant is glycerin, polyethylene glycol, pentaerythritol, sorbitan monolaurate or sorbitan trioleate. 
     
     
       18. A method according to claim 1, wherein the water (D) is deionized water. 
     
     
       19. A method according to claim 1, wherein the cutting fluid composition further comprises (E) an acid in an amount sufficient to provide the cutting fluid with a pH of from about 6 to about 8. 
     
     
       20. A method according to claim 19, wherein the acid (E) comprises at least one member selected from the group consisting of citric acid, boric acid, tartaric acid and acetic acid. 
     
     
       21. A method according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is a photoreceptor substrate. 
     
     
       22. A method according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is aluminum. 
     
     
       23. A method of cleaning a substrate comprising: (1) lathing a substrate with a cutting fluid composition comprising: (A) about 1 part by weight of triethanolamine;   (B) about 2 parts by weight of octylphenoxy polyethoxyethanol;   (C) about 10 parts by weight of polyethylene glycol; and   (D) about 87 parts by weight of deionized water;     (2) spray rinsing the substrate at a pressure of about 50 psi for about 1 minute with deionized water having a resistivity of greater than about 2M ohm-cm;   (3) immersing the rinsed lathed substrate surface in a bath of deionized water having a resistivity of at least 2M ohm-cm for about 1 minute; and   (4) removing the substrate from the bath of deionized water at a rate of less than about 2.5 centimeters per second.   
     
     
       24. A method of cleaning a substrate comprising: (1) lathing a substrate with a cutting fluid composition comprising: (A) about 2.5 parts by weight of an antioxidant containing an amine borate, propylene glycol, amine carboxylate, a non-ionic surfactant, and a non-silicone anti-foaming agent;   (B) about 1 part by weight of octylphenoxy polyethoxyethanol;   (C) about 2 parts by weight of polyethylene glycol; and   (D) about 94.5 parts by weight of deionized water;     (2) rinsing the lathed substrate surface with deionized water having a resistivity of at least 2M ohm-cm;   (3) immersing the rinsed lathed substrate surface in a bath of deionized water having a resistivity of at least 2M ohm-cm; and   (4) removing the substrate from the bath of deionized water at a rate which prevents water droplets from forming on the substrate.